Riedel on BIRDIE, Gershon and the one they call "Corky Sinclair" — Page 2

Am I the only one who liked Gershon better than Stamos? Just curious.

She really does give her all, even if its not enough. Stamos is already walking through the role which to me is much more of a problem.

I saw a preview of the show recently and was thoroughly unimpressed.
With half the cast of "13" onstage, I didn't feel their performances were mature enough to handle the choreography or the satire. I'd rather see a developed 22 year old play a 16 year old than an emerging 15 year old struggling to find the "point".

Gershon was an utter disappointment and is clearly out of her league in this role. Boeing Boeing was incredible. This is lackluster.

Stamos sauntered in and out of dorky and suave. Too much of a glaring duality for the role. A little Sinatra mixed with Seymour from Little Shop. Didn't work for me.

Bill Irwin was thoroughly enjoyable as was Jane Houdyshell.

Saw understudy for Conrad Birdie (not sure of his name). Decent performance but he certainly didn't possess the sex appeal and charm needed for the role. The audience needs to be so charmed by him that even the straight men want to rush the stage. A rather dull performance leads us to wonder whether we should even care about Conrad at all.

Overall, the show wreaks of a choreographer turned director challenge. The acting is not well rehearsed or properly worked and the choreography is so high energy with a distinct lack of maturity from its participants that the overall feel of the show is muddy and sloppy.

I don't think it will be a hit.
Too bad. I had hoped for a lot more.

Stamos and what's-his-name Birdie made Gershon sound like Ethel Merman and Mary Martin wrapped into one. What a LOUSY production!!!

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Brody, I guess that happened to me too. I went in expecting to be let down and totally enjoyed the show. I didn't think it wad going to be a fabulous production and I ended up being pleased with what I saw.

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And Pageant.

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Am I the only one who liked Gershon better than Stamos? Just curious.

You're not alone. While Gershon and Stamos were both problematic, Gershon fared better.

It's being compared to anything of quality. One would hope that the first revival of Bye Bye Birdie would have much better treatment than what it's getting right now. If young audiences' first exposure to the show is this production and they enjoy it, good for them. They'll enjoy it more when they see a better production. A lot of the main critiques come from people who know the show well (just in general) and see that this production fights the material with the casting, the direction and the even the design.

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I saw Lenora Nemez as Rosie and I remember hearing from people who had seen the show previously that Reinking's voice was not what it had been in the past. She still danced beautifully but her voice wasn't there. I didn't hear it then but I have been less than impressed with her vocals on the Chicago recording.

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Updated On: 10/8/09 at 12:37 AM

Ann Reinking isn't singing in her own voice -- she's channeling Gwen Verdon. Re-listen to the 1996 Original Broadway Revival Cast Recording of CHICAGO and it is utterly disgusting what she's doing. Oy!

I know Matt Doyle has a small role in this, but is he any good?

I found Doyle's performance to be contrived and unfunny but, in the grand scheme of things, that is the least of this revival's problems.

I saw Reinking and thought that her voice was quite rough and that she did not pull it off vocally. That said, I also thought the entire Tune production was a mess, and she was the least of its problems. She did of course dance beautifully.

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For a show that's being slammed so much, its very difficult to find tickets. I'm trying to get them for the weekend of November 21st or 22nd and having severe difficulty....

I thought Doyle could have done more with the role. I saw a local production and found that Hugo to be hilariously dorky, but Doyle was just sort of there. Which is sort of the problem with everyone on the stage minus a few.